Kappos Calls For Abolition Of Section 101 Of Patent Act

The former director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Monday called for the abolition of Section 101 of the Patent Act, which sets limits on patent-eligible subject matter, saying decisions like Alice on the issue are a "real mess" and threaten patent protection for key U.S. industries.

David Kappos, now a partner at Cravath Swaine & Moore LLP, said at the Federal Circuit Judicial Conference in Washington that the U.S. Supreme Court's high-profile Section 101 decisions in Mayo, Myriad and Alice, and the way...